Former Willsboro IGA to see new life as makerspace

The IGA in downtown Willsboro will see new life as part of a collaborative project between the Town of Willsboro, the Nature Conservancy and the nonprofit Makers Guild Inc.

WILLSBORO | A long-shuttered grocery store in downtown Willsboro will see new life as part of a collaborative project between the town, the Nature Conservancy and a start-up makerspace project.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased the 11-acre parcel containing the building from a commercial real estate broker.

TNC will cleave off the parcel containing the former IGA and gift it to the Makers Guild Inc. for use as a community “makerspace,” or a place where people with shared interests can come together to work on projects while sharing equipment and other resources.

The nonprofit already has a presence in the community via the Boquet Nature Preserve, a tract that contains a series of trails winding behind the Champlain Valley Senior Community and Paine Memorial Library along the Boquet River.

The purchase will expand the nature preserve to 120 acres while securing a high visibility area off state Route 22.

“The acquisition will enable the TNC to establish a new trailhead and parking area and connect a path to the interior trail network, including Tim’s Trail, the second longest accessibility trail of its kind in the Adirondack Park,” according to a news release.

Opportunities abound for fishing, hiking, trail running and skiing, and portions of the trail network pass through a forest containing sycamores that are more than 200 years old.

The Nature Conservancy (TNC) purchased the 11-acre parcel containing the building from a commercial real estate broker.

COMMUNITY REVITALIZATION

Stakeholders have said the acquisitions will revitalize the town’s main travel corridor and enhance recreation while also protecting surrounding forestland from development.

The newly-minted MakeBoro Center for Arts + Innovation in Willsboro will be “rooted in arts and innovation with an emphasis on environmental stewardship,” according to the TNC.

“It symbolizes the growing energy around the Adirondacks to capitalize on the beauty of our natural world while also tapping the creative spirit of its people,” said TNC Adirondack Chapter Director Peg Olsen in a statement.

To survey the community’s interests and raise awareness for the project, Makers Guild hosted two community workshops last summer and several “Fix-it Day” events at the hardware store across the street.

Makers Guild President Beverly Eichenlaub said the project presents an “amazing opportunity to cultivate collaboration and creativity in our rural community through arts, technology and innovation.”

“We are excited by the depth of community interest, impressed with the town’s leadership and grateful for The Nature Conservancy’s generosity in support of this project,” said Eichenlaub in a statement.

Similar facilities exist in Westport, Au Sable Forks, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid, among other locations, with prospective locations also being eyed in Keene and Keene Valley.

“There’s about 20 aspiring existing or envisioned spaces throughout the Adirondacks,” said Jake Vennie-Vollrath, regional advocacy coordinator with the Adirondack North Country Association.

Vennie-Vollrath said makerspaces help drive down the cost of shared equipment, like 3-D printers or sewing machines.

Over time, the incubators can generate new ideas and even small businesses utilizing brick and mortar storefronts.

“It’s really a starting point for new ideas in this new economy,” Vennie-Vollrath said.

And the potential for sharing knowledge and skills is ripe — particularly between generations, which is a prospect in Willsboro owing to the nearby senior community.

“There should be some very interesting cross pollination of skills happening there,” Vennie-Vollrath said.

Willsboro Supervisor Shaun Gillilland ultimately envisions a facility not unlike the Hub on the Hill in nearby Essex.

Downtown access to the Boquet Nature Preserve paired with renovation of a blighted commercial building and parking lot is “a positive and optimistic step forward for our town,” he said.

“Great things happen when we all pull together for common good,” Gillilland said in a statement.

TNC anticipates the new parking area and trail segment to be completed by 2020, adding to recent investments in major trail upgrades completed by professional trail builders in the past three years.

The building requires significant repair work after being empty for about a decade, Eichenlaub said.

Work parties will commence once the weather starts to improve, and will be paired with fundraising efforts, including grant applications.

Makers Guild aims to be operable by the end of the year, serving not only Willsboro, but also artisans from as far away as Plattsburgh.